the thread of the infinite
by Mia-Zeklos
Summary: "When Alec's wings manifested for the first time, it was– well, if not the event of the year, then the event of the month, definitely."


**Notes: The second fic for _dadariios_ over on tumblr for the Jalec Gift Exchange; the prompt being about a wing!au where the Shadowhunters's wings are particularly sensitive. This is unapologetically sappy because I haven't written a truly happy Jalec fic in forever. Hope you enjoy it! ^^**

When Alec's wings manifested for the first time, it was– well, if not the event of the year, then the event of the month, definitely. It had happened right in front of everyone, too, halfway through their morning training, and the news had spread at the speed of light.

Everyone who'd managed to get a glimpse of them had been in awe and Jace could fully understand that – Alec's wings were _glorious_ , piercing the skies above the Institute in their raven-feathered glory – but the first time he'd seen them, he'd been terrified.

Really, he should have seen it coming. The signals he'd been receiving through their bond since the night before had been strange and conflicting and _unfamiliar_ and early on the next day, they were accompanied by a faint ache in Alec's upper back, not bad enough to warrant medical attention but noticeable enough to be irritating. Still, when Alec had doubled over during their sparring session and had cried out in pain, Jace had been astonished to see his wings spread out behind his back for the very first time, dripping blood over the training room floor. Jace had helped him up as soon as he'd realised what was happening, of course, but by the time they reached Robert's office, the man in question was out looking for them already – Isabelle had beat them to announcement.

About an hour later, the entire Institute knew.

Alec wasn't exactly basking in the attention, but he endured it well enough, seemingly able to get used to it after the first time he managed to take flight. It really was a big deal, whether he liked to admit it or not, as the majority of the Institute's occupants either had their wings already or were far too young to think about them yet.

It wasn't an exact science; the moment when a Shadowhunter's wings manifested for the first time. It was usually the last stage before they were considered ready for field work and while Alec, Izzy and Jae had gone on more than one hunting mission already, all three of them knew that it would be a different experience entirely once they got their wings.

They were the first ones to congratulate Alec, closely followed by Robert and Maryse and the rest of the resident Shadowhunters. When he first used them to their full potential, Jace waited for him on the ground to kiss him with more pride than he could express with words and if the discussion around Alec's wings had almost stopped at that point, their kiss in the middle of the courtyard rekindled it all over again.

The revelation had been a long time coming, Jace supposed. It wasn't _required_ of bonded parabatai pairs to have a relationship, but it was almost inevitable anyway; falling in love with the person you'd given a piece of your soul to, and it only made their bond stronger, making them even better in battle than they already were.

For the two of them, it was still very new. They'd danced around the issue for the first two years after their parabatai ceremony and they hadn't done much in the month or so after they'd finally confided in each other about their mutual feelings; just lazy good morning kisses after the nights when they'd shared a bed. And to Jace, it felt like a better time than any other; making sure that everyone could see just how much he appreciated Alec's newfound skill.

They'd been inseparable ever since – in public, especially, just because they could – and when Alec first complained that he couldn't groom his wings in some of the harder to reach places, Jace offered his help without hesitation. Everyone could see a Shadowhunter's wings, but there was still something too _private_ about them for them to be touched by most people and, given how intimate the procedure was supposed to be for one reason or another, it only made sense for Jace to volunteer for the role.

They were out in the gardens, their usual training place these days, and Alec was sitting on the ground with his wings spread out to their full potential for Jace to see. Even for a Nephilim, his wingspan was impressive and Jace knew that it would take him a while to cover everything, but he definitely wasn't complaining. If anything, he'd been waiting for this for a while, the idea of finally getting to fly with his parabatai too tempting for him not to.

He started with the coverts, running his fingers over the firm surface and smiling when Alec tried to suppress a shiver. Whatever he'd just felt, he hadn't expected it and Alec pushed back into his hands before drawing his wings away again, folding them just slightly and pressing them closer to his back.

"Sensitive?" Jace asked innocently and pressed harder, righting the position of a feather that looked particularly out of place. He'd learnt all about this during his biology lessons, but it was a different thing entirely to experience it first hand and with _Alec_ of all people; to be the first one to touch him like this.

"A little." Alec's tone sounded carefully composed, as if he was making an _effort_ to sound calm. "You'll be able to feel it for yourself soon."

"I can't wait," Jace drawled and it wasn't just teasing; he was looking forward to Alec returning the favour once he got his own wings. He upped his efforts without really meaning to and Alec shied away from his touch with a bitten off whimper that sounded as reluctant as it was eager. "You're really wound up, you know. This shouldn't hurt so much."

"It doesn't hurt," Alec snapped. "I can do it on my own."

"No way," Jace scoffed and moved on to his parabatai's primaries. "It's gonna get worse before it gets better, but it'll do wonders for your flight."

Alec's fingers curled into the grass under his fingers and Jace could see the flush spreading from his face down to his chest. It was customary for Shadowhunters to try and bite back any pain-related complaints, but it was ridiculous that Alec still felt the need to do that when it was just the two of them.

Apparently, Alec's self-control had its limits. "Jace," he said through gritted teeth, voice more strained than Jace could remember ever hearing it, pain or no pain. " _Please_."

As much as he wanted to keep going – the more effort he put into this, the easier it would be for Alec later on – Jace couldn't stand seeing him like this any longer. He wrapped up his massage as quickly as he could, ending where he'd begun – at the base of his wings, where they melted into the skin of his back – and patted Alec's shoulder to show that he was done.

Just as he made to draw away and suggest another round of _Muay Thai_ , the technique they'd been trying to perfect over the last few weeks, Jace found himself pulled down into a kiss.

It was nothing like the ones he was used to receiving from Alec. He had never been overly careful with him, but he hadn't been this forceful either; hands cupping Jace's face to bring him closer until Jace was on his knees next to him, unable to resist the temptation of letting his hands wander to Alec's wings again. His fingers slid down over the smooth, silky surface of the feathers and he was just about to use his hold on Alec to press himself against his parabatai when he was pushed away all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry," Jace gasped. His eyes, having closed on reflex during their kiss, were wide open now as he took in Alec's shaken expression. "I didn't mean–"

"It's fine." Alec leant in for another quick kiss and got up to his feet, his wings slowly unfurling again as he surveyed their surroundings. "I thought you wanted to go another round here. How about an attack from above this time?"

"Of course." He was still confused to a degree – Alec had told him that he'd understand the feeling when the time came, but could it really be _that_ unexplainable? – but he never wanted to miss an opportunity of seeing his parabatai fly. "I just thought it might be tiring," he said, nodding towards the appendages in question. "All that flying."

"Not at all," Alec grinned – his genuine, overly energetic smile usually reserved only for Jace – and got back into starting position. "I could go for _hours_."

 **-.-**

He had been unfair. Now that Jace had his own wings, he had to admit that all the times he'd pestered Alec to give him more information about what it was like to fly, he knew that nothing he could have said would have done it justice. It was like nothing else he'd ever experienced.

It was all the little details that fascinated him to no end. It was easier to take flight if he was on a building, not on the ground. It took a decent amount of concentration to call the wings out and to hide them back under his skin with the magic his body held for that specific purpose, and the procedure was sometimes more exhausting than the flying itself. It wasn't painful, though; once he'd seen Alec's wings appear for the first time, he'd been prepared for the shock his system went through when they manifested themselves during a hunt one day. After that, it had taken him hours – _days_ – to stop getting overly excited at the sight of them and to start using them only when it was strictly necessary.

Well, if he was being honest, he hadn't quite mastered the second part yet. His wings felt enormous behind his back and as such were largely inconvenient to keep out at all times and that was the only thing stopping him from staying up in the air for as long as he physically could.

Alec was there through every step of his training, of course. He'd gone through the very same thing only months prior and was more than eager to try everything he'd learnt with Jace so that they could master this together too, just like they had done with everything else. It was yet another benefit of the parabatai bond – even when flying, they could feel each other to the point where they would be just as efficient during a fight from the air as they had been in their routine hunts back before they'd had that advantage.

Flying made everything so much _easier_ , Jace often thought. Not just from a practical point of view, although there was that, too, but in every other way as well. He'd never felt as free as he did now and he had never been more grateful for being the Angel's descendant than he was as he rose over the towers of the Institute, over the tallest buildings in the city until he could reach the clouds and the victory of it was all the sweeter with Alec by his side.

 **o.O.o**

"I need your help."

Alec, who had just been picking out his clothes for the day, looked up from his bed. He and Jace had given up the ritual of knocking before entering each other's rooms a long time ago, but he never really got used to how _quiet_ Jace always was; how he tended to appear as if from thin air despite his heavy combat boots and the Institute's creaking doors.

"What is it?" He checked on Jace through their bond just in case and although he'd known that he was fine – Jace hadn't been assigned a mission the night before and, as far as Alec knew, he hadn't left the building since they'd came home last night – he was still relieved to realise that everything was in order.

Jace closed the door behind his back and pushed Alec's clothes out of the way to make space for himself on his bed. "You know that massage I do sometimes? The one for your wings? I think you mentioned that you'd return the favour if I wanted you to."

"Oh." _That_. Alec should have known that it was coming. It was a given that Jace would come to him for something like this – or for anything as far as his wings were concerned, really – and he was glad, even if he wasn't quite sure how to proceed. "I'm in. Do you– do you want me to do it now?"

"Why not?" Jace took off his shirt in one quick move and tossed it on the open door of Alec's wardrobe, eyes closing in concentration as he called out his wings. "They've been feeling– weird since the last time I used them. Even after the iratze, they're still too stiff to move comfortably."

"I'll see what I can do." He had to take Jace's word for it, because his wings didn't _look_ any different; the snow white expanse before Alec's eyes just as immaculate as ever. Looks could be deceiving, of course, because that was just what Jace's wings were like – his feathers were light and almost fragile to the touch, the brown speckles scattered over them the only thing that could distinguish them from an angel's. "Can you spread them out a little?"

Jace obeyed with a sigh of relief, his body sinking back into the bed – and closer to Alec, who'd positioned himself behind his back – in what was most likely a subconscious reaction. He really _was_ tense; more than Alec had expected.

It still felt strange to be able _look_ at Jace's wings, especially when he was up in the air, and even stranger to be allowed to touch them. He never had, aside from straightening up a stray feather or two after a fight, but procedures such as this one was something they would both get used to eventually. Not that it would be too difficult, Alec thought as he recalled every single time Jace had made sure that his wings had received the best possible treatment. If anything, he knew that his parabatai would be pleasantly surprised when he didn't feel even a ghost of the pain that he probably expected given Alec's behaviour.

Alec started from the outside, focusing on the primaries that had suffered the most from their fight and from the storm they'd had to fly through later the same evening. He was almost _offended_ by the state of them and now tried to be as thorough as possible, gently settling every feather back into place until Jace's wings were more or less back in their original shape.

Now it was time for the difficult part.

Wings were so _sensitive_ that Alec had no idea how anyone could stand having them touched by someone who wasn't close to them. He knew that there were people with much more experience in that area; Shadowhunters in Idris who'd made it their profession to take care of people's wings, but Alec was almost entirely sure that it would feel too invasive for him to actually stand it.

Plus, Jace had been doing a great job. Better than great, if Alec was being honest. It was only fair for him to return the favour even if he felt the need to be too careful for Jace's tastes.

Jace, who seemed to pick up on the thought as soon as it crossed Alec's mind. That, or he was just growing impatient; with how strong their bond was these days, Alec wasn't about to rule out that possibility.

"Come on, Alec," he sighed, "can we move on to the main event? I wouldn't mind staying here all day, but you're _probably_ going to object to that."

Honestly, it was a close thing. Alec knew that he had work to do, but when he had Jace like this, it was difficult to think that there could be anything more pressing than getting to have him all for himself for a few hours before their day had to start.

Still, he climbed back on the bed so that he could reach Jace's shoulders and his wings directly above them, trailing his fingers over the main bone to get him used to the sensation. From what he'd been able to see of his own wings, they were the easiest to take care of in this part of his body, but it was different for Jace and there were a thousand little details that Alec could get lost in if he let himself spend enough time on them.

There was another groan, this time more pleasure than relief, and Alec felt himself falter. Maybe just this once? They were rarely, if ever, granted this amount of privacy and right now, all Alec wanted was to spend some more time in his parabatai's company and he could feel the same desire echoing through their bond and it was just the push he needed to keep going.

He kneaded into the base of Jace's right wing, then, mirroring what Jace had done to him the first time they'd gone through this and he smiled at the reaction he got – so close to the one he'd had that it was almost identical.

"You're such a liar," Jace accused on a startled gasp, his fluttering slightly as he tried to keep his balance on the edge of the bed. "This doesn't hurt _at all_."

"I told you it didn't hurt." The last time this had happened, they'd been in the courtyard for the entire Institute to see and he'd at least made an effort to keep his cool; it wasn't all that surprising that Jace wouldn't bother doing the same when they were alone in his bedroom. But, Angel, it was difficult to try and focus on what he was supposed to be doing when Jace plastered himself to his front like this, clearly asking for more.

But then it wasn't just that. He was turning around, pulling his wings close until they were wrapped around him like a blanket and then letting them spread out again to cover both of them; the edges of his feathers sliding over Alec's shoulders in an obvious caress.

"Do it again," he asked and the intensity in his eyes was too much for Alec to do anything but obey. "Why didn't you _say_ anything?"

 _Why_ hadn't he? Alec wasn't sure. He'd been almost embarrassed by his reaction and in retrospect, that seemed ridiculous. Jace had never given him a reason to believe that he would react badly – quite the opposite, actually; he'd complained more than enough that they were never given any privacy – but he'd kept it to himself anyway, still not completely sure that he could be so _open_ about this kind of thing.

"I felt so guilty," Jace continued, clearly unbothered by his silence. The fingers of one hand were tracing intricate shapes over Alec's still bare chest while the other got tangled up in his hair, pulling his head back so that Jace could leave a trail of kisses from Alec's collarbone to his jawline and, finally, to his mouth, still open in surprise. "I thought you were in _pain_." The words were pressed against his lips, quick and hungry and nothing like the ones he'd initiated every before. "Should've guessed that it was something else since it bothered you that much."

Despite his teasing, Jace hadn't pulled away and Alec made sure to take advantage of that fact, reclaiming his grip on Jace's wings and repeating the motion from before, only harder this time, fingers burrowing into the softness of his wings until Jace's eyes slid closed and he leant forward, pressing his forehead against Alec's shoulder. His breathing was hitched and _God_ , he was still plastered against Alec from head to toe, their legs intertwined and his warm weight the only thing keeping Alec grounded enough for him to keep up his massage, as distracted as it had to be by now.

Jace didn't seem to mind too much, if he'd noticed at all. Alec couldn't blame him, really; he remembered what the feeling had been like when his parabatai had first started his examination of this particular part of his wings. His mind had felt pleasantly foggy, focusing on Jace's touch and nothing else and the only thing that had made him pull himself together was the fact that there had been _so_ many people around them, more than enough for someone to notice what was going on. Jace, however, didn't have to worry about that now and Alec would have envied him if he wasn't the one who got to see him like this.

"Alec." It was more of a sigh now, whispered in the crook of his neck as Jace's hand slid down his chest and to the waistband of the sweats he'd pulled on hastily this morning, only to reroute to his side and curl his fingers in a wordless request, his blunt nails digging into Alec's skin hard enough to make him hiss through his teeth. "C'mon, don't stop now."

It would be advisable for him to stop, actually, Alec knew that. It wasn't that he _wanted_ to, but it would be a good idea for them to talk about this first. It was just how it was _done_ , even if Jace was apparently intent on failing to follow that unspoken rule.

When he didn't move, Jace looked up and Alec used the opportunity to drag him into another kiss, much more decisive than he'd intended it to be. His parabatai laughed breathlessly against his lips, the sound turning into a whimper as Alec focused his attention back on his wings entirely, mimicking everything Jace had been doing to him for months now with something between desire and retaliation. It always ended up like this when it was just the two of them, Alec had to admit; they could be gentle with each other when they wanted to be, but everything turned into an effort to one up each other eventually and he was more than grateful for that now. After all, he'd been the one who'd managed to not give in somehow and he was also the one who had made Jace fall apart with something so simple _now_ and the satisfaction of it was almost better than the action itself.

Almost, and it turned out to pale in comparison to the way Jace looked at him just then – eyes wide in disbelief and sheer want and expression more open than Alec had ever seen it before.

"Yes," Jace gasped, hips thrusting against Alec's hard enough to startle him out of the awe he'd regarded his parabatai with. He hadn't expected to get anything out of this aside from giving Jace what he wanted and it had been enough, but of _course_ his parabatai would want to return the favour. "Yes, that's– that's _perfect_ , Alec, I'm–"

Whatever he'd meant to say was lost in another kiss and it was yet another first, messy and unplanned and interspersed with Jace's curses and praises and Alec felt so overwhelmed by it all – by Jace's actions and his presence and the _feel_ of him against his body – that he barely noticed when Jace's erratic thrusts gained a rhythm; desperate and determined and far too much for Alec to do anything but spur him on.

Leaving one of Jace's wings for a moment, Alec's hand reached for the button of his jeans, his suddenly clumsy fingers just starting to struggle with the zipper when Jace stiffened against him and Alec froze, his arms wrapping around his parabatai to hold him just as Jace bit down hard on his shoulder and came, his entire body trembling with the aftershocks. His exhilaration (as well as his surprise, although he was actively trying to hide that, Alec could tell) was almost palpable through their bond and he gathered him closer into his arms, letting Jace kiss the bite mark from moments ago in a silent apology.

The reminder of the pain was sharp enough to reach Alec through the fog of lust that had overtaken him, but not enough for him to actually bother pulling away and he let himself fall back onto the bed instead, dragging Jace down with him, laughing as he realised that he'd caught him off guard. Jace found his place soon enough, positioning himself comfortably on top of his parabatai, and Alec smiled up at him in an invitation that bordered on a challenge. That's what it _was_ , to a degree, but then again, that wasn't much of a revelation – he'd known what he was in for since day one. It was his last fleeting thought before Jace leant in to kiss him again; that if this was what it was always going to be like, then he couldn't wait to see all the days ahead of them.


End file.
